Sanitary hinge for soda fountain lids



Sept. 22, 1953 H. s. PETERSEN SANITARY HINGE FOR SODA FOUNTAIN LIDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 27, 1949 INVENTOR.

Haw/4 705. PETER 55v L UWW H. S. PETERSEN SANITARY HINGE FOR SODA FOUNTAIN.LIDS

Sept. 22, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 27, 1949 INVENTOR. HEW/7RD 5 PETERSEN Patented Sept. 22, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SANITARY HINGE F LI OR SODA FOUNTAIN DS 3 Claims.

This invention relates to hinge connections employed for hingedly attaching covers for refrigerated areas, or for containers occupied by frozen confections such as ice cream and ices. Such containers referred to are usually provided with two covers or lids, each of which covers substantially half of the area of the opening of the container, and at their adjacent edges the two lids are connected together so that either lid can be swung up into an open position to enable access to be had at the moment to the portion of the container that is covered by that lid.

These covers are not located at a high level, so that it is possible for a spilled liquid to fall on the upper sides of the lids adjacent the hinge connection, with the possibility that this liquid could find its way into the interior through the hinge connection.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a hinge connection such as referred to, which will have a construction that will render it impervious to the passage of such a spilled liquid through it, so that the hinge connection will operate as a sanitary hinge,

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge of this type having a construction that will permit either of the lids to be swung through a relatively large angle, the limit of which would be approximately 180.

The hinge of my invention involves the use of two telescoped rolls, particularly adapted to be formed of sheet metal, one of which fits nicely into the interior of the other, that is to say, it nests therein; and one of the objects of the invention is to provide simple means for securing the two rolls against shifting longitudinally with respect to each other, which, at the same time, will not obstruct in any way the free opening and closing movements of the lids at the hinge connection.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficient sanitary hinge for soda fountain lids.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken through the adjacent edges of two lid sections or lids such as used for soda fountain refrigerated areas, the outer portion of the lids being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the lids themselves in side elevation with one of the lids in a raised and open position. The outer portions of the lids are broken away; and this view also indicates a portion of the mouth of the container in which the lids seat. This portion of the view is broken away as indicated, and while the lids themselves are shown in elevation, the retaining rod or tie bar that lies within the rolls, is shown in cross-section.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the two lids in their closed position, and is a fragmentary view broken away, showing a portion of each lid in the vicinity of the hinge connection.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken about on the line 4-l of Fig. 1; this section passes through the roll and through a nut on the end of the tie rod, but shows the tie rod itself in side elevation.

Fig. 5 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating the left-hand lid of Figs. 1 and 2 in its open position.

Fig. 6 is a plan of the two lids upon a reduced scale, and illustrating the characteristic feature of this hinge connection, which consists in providing a continuous unbroken surface throughout the entire length of the hinge joint so that no crack or crevice is provided from one side of the lid to the other, through which a liquid could pass down through the hinge connection.

In practicing this invention as applied to a double hinge type of joint such as employed in dual-lidded areas, I provide the edge of one of the lids adjacent to the hinge connection with a substantially semi-cylindrical shell-form outer roll that extends continuously along that edge from one of the side edges of the area to the other. The other lid section is provided with a similar substantially semi-cylindrical shell-form roll which may be considered an inner roll, because it lies within the outer roll. The material of this roll also extends continuously unbroken from one end of the hinge connection to the other. Within the inner roll I provide a rod of considerably smaller diameter than the diameter of the inside roll, and this rod floats freely within the rolls; and this rod has means at its ends for preventing relative longitudinal shifting of the rolls. When the hinge is in its normal closed position, that is, when the lids are both closed, this rod simply lies by gravity at the bottom of the inside or inner roll. However, when either of the lids is swung to its open position, the two rolls swing around relatively to each other, at which time the axes of the rolls no longer coincide with each other as they do when the hinge is in its closed position, and as this opening movement continues, the rod shifts its position Within the two rolls, and as the hinge approaches its open position the tie rod maintains its opposite sides in contact respectively, with the inner surface of the two rolls.

Referring more particularly to the parts, and especially to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, l and 2 indicate the two lids which lie in the mouth 3 of the container 4, and the adjacent edges. 5 and 5 of these lids abut against each other approximately at the middle of the opening in the container.

In practice, these lids or lid sections I and' 2v are constructed so that each lid defines a chamber which is filled with insulation.

These lids are usually constructed, of sheet metal or plates, including a cover plate 8 for the lid l, and a similar cover plate 9 for the lid '2. which arebent up to form substantially vertical extensions H and [2 located at the abutting faces 5 and 6 of the lids. These extensions ll and i2 terminate slightly short of the plane of the cover plates 3 and 9, and at these points transverse angle plates l3 and M are welded in position. to connect respectively, the cover plate 8 to the vertical extension H, and the cover plate 9 to the vertical extension l2.

While the rolls or sleeves that are nested together to form the hinge connection may be integral extensions 'of the two cover plates 3 and 9, it is obvious that each of these cover plates constitutes a hinge leaf, but each of these rolls could be formed, as an extension of a small hinge plate that could be attached to two parts to 'form a hinge connection between them. In the present instance, I prefer to have the cover plate 8 extend a shirt distance across the vertical' plane where the adjacent edges 5 and 5 of the lids abut against each other (see Fig. 1). By doing this, the under face of this extension will abut against the upper face of the horizontal leaf of the angle plate [4 of the righthand lid. This overlapping extension 8a of the cover plate 8 is turned upwardly to form an extension 8b that extends transversely to the plane of the cover plates B and 9 and preferably perpendicular to that plane. The upper portion of the extension 8b merges into a semicylindrical roll or sleeve 80 which projects over the adjacent edge portion of the lid 2, with its concave side downward and its convex side dis.- posed upwardly as shown in Fig. 1. This roll 80 extends to a terminal edge But that is spaced from the upper face of' the cover plate 9 so as to form a gap or slot, IS.

The other cover plate 9 has an extension 9a that extends in through this gap or slot l5, and its forward end merges into a substantially semicylindrical roll or sleeve 9b which may be referred to as the inner roll because it lies nested within the outer roll 8c; and referably its outer diameter isv such that it fits closely into the bore or socket that is formed for it on the inner side of theroll 80. This roll 9b has a terminal edge 90, that in the present instance is disposed adjacent to the terminal edge 8d of the other roll. In other words, this terminal edge is spaced from the upper face of the cover plate 9 so that a gap or slot I5 is formed, be-. tween it and the upper face of that 'cover plate.

In order to prevent the rolls or sleeves 8c and 9b from shifting longitudinally with respect to each other, I prefer to employ a floating tie bar The lids also include bottom plates l0 or tie rod I! that is slid longitudinally into po sition within the inner roll after the two rolls have been telescoped with each other, or after the roll 91) is moved into the socket formed for it by the upper roll 80, by relative upward movement. The ends of this tie rod project beyond the aligning end faces N3 of the rolls, and at the projecting ends of the tie rod, means are provided for engaging the end faces of the rolls at l8. This effectively prevents any relative longitudinal shifting movement of the rolls. In practice, one end of the tie rod I1 is formed with a hex head [1a similar to the nut I9 illustrated in Fig. 4, which is attached on the threaded reduced tip 20 formed on this end of the tierod.

In Fig. 2 I illustrate the relation of the rolls 9b and 8c to each other when the lid 2 has been swung to a wide-open position. When this opening movement starts, rotation occurs on the common geometrical axis of the two rolls, and this continues until the upper face of; the cover plate 9 approaches the terminal edge 8d of the roll 80, at which time the inner face of the inner roll rides up over the outer side of the roll in the vicinity of the terminal edge 8d somewhat as indicated in Fig. 2, and the tie rod I! is raised to a position such as that in which it is shown in Fig. 2, and in this position its opposite sides will respectively engage the inner surface of the inner roll toward its terminal edge and the outer roll toward its terminal edge 8d. In this way the tie-rod operates as a spacer around which the rolls rock while the rod also operates as a center or axis about which the rotation is established. It should be understood, however, that the position of the lid section 2 in Fig. 2, does not indicate the limit of its opening movement. This movement can continue until the lid section 2 assumes a substantially horizontal position over the lid section I. In order to prevent any obstruction of this full opening swing of the two lids, the upper sides of these lids are provided with handles 2! and 22 that are somewhat out of line with each other, as indicated in Fig. 6.

If the lid section l is swung open instead of the lid section 2, a somewhat similar change occurs in the relation of the rolls to each other. This is illustrated in Fig. 5, in which the lid section 5 is illustrated in a substantially full open position. In this case, however, when the opening movement starts, rotation occurs about the common geometrical axis of the two rolls, and this continues until the terminal edge 8d moves into the gap 16. When this occurs, the forward edge portion of the roll 8a with respect to the direction of rotation, will move into position under the tie bar and raise it so that in this case also, the tie bar will eventually assume a position in which on one side it engages the concave inner face of the outer roll, and on the other side engages the concave inner face of the inner roll (see Fig. 5).

As either of the lid sections I or 2 is swung up on the hinge axis the tie-rod becomes lifted, and in the extreme open position of the raised lid becomes pressed or jammed between the concave faces of the rolls. This is illustrated in Figure 2, which shows lid section 2 swung open; and in Figure 5 which shows the lid section I swung open. In these two relations of the hinged parts the tie-rod limits the opening movement, having floated up from its normal position shown in Figure l in which it lies within the inner roll 5 unattached to the same, and freely movable laterally.

When this hinge connection is to be constructed so that it will constitute a sanitary hinge, that is to say, a hinge which will be impervious to lateral passage of a liquid through it, it is necessary of course, to have the rolls extend continuously with unbroken surfaces from one end of the roll to the other. If this is done, then at all times and in any position of the lids, any liquid on the upper surface of either of the lids will be caught by one or the other of the rolls, which will operate as a gutter to catch any such liquid or moisture, to prevent it from passing downwardly at the hinge into the interior of the container. This will be evident from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 5. Of course, the two rolls must be long enough to extend to, or beyond, the side faces 23 of the container (see Fig. 4).

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a sanitary hinge connection for connecting two adjacent lid sections normally disposed in a horizontal plane, the combination of a hinge-leaf for connection to one of said lid sections, and having an integral semi-cylindrical outer roll with a concavo-convex wall extending around through substantially one hundred and eighty degrees, and with the concave side of said roll disposed toward the plane in which the said hinge leaf lies, a second hinge leaf for connection to the other lid section having an integral concavo-convex inner roll lying within, and in contact with, the concave face of the outer roll, said rolls having their terminal side edges 1ying adjacent to each other and located at a distance from the plane of said hinge leaves, so that a gap exists between said terminal edges and the plane of said hinge leaves, said rolls extending continuously throughout the length of said hinge connection to prevent water from passing down through the hinge connection; and

a tie-rod lying completely within the inner roll when the hinge leaves are in their horizontal position, said rod being of suificient small diameter to enable the same to be freely movable laterally within the inner roll when the said hinge leaves are lying in substantially the same horizontal plane, said tie-rod extending continuously through said rolls from end to end thereof and having heads at its ends projecting over the ends of said rolls and preventing relatively longitudinally shifting of said rolls on each other.

2. A hinge connection according to claim 1 in which, when the inner roll is rotated on the hinge axis to the open position of the hinge connection, the said rod is lifted by the inner roll and pressed thereby against the inner face of the outer roll adjacent the terminal edge thereof, thereby limiting the opening movement of the hinge connection.

3. A hinge connection according to claim 1, in which, when the outer roll is rotated on the hinge axis to the open position of the hinge connection, the said rod is lifted by the outer roll and pressed thereby against the inner face of the inner roll, thereby limiting the opening movement of the hinge connection.

HOWARD S. PETERSEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,417,984 French May 30, 1922 1,912,635 Hall June 6, 1933 2,023,224 Hall Dec. 3, 1935 2,222,428 Boettcher Nov. 19, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 44,338 France Oct. 1, 1934 (Addition to No. 752,187) 170,715 Canada July 11, 1916 

